Abstract
Most combatants in armed conflict are men, so naturally men are the major direct victims of military operations+ Yet armed conflicts have important indi- rect negative consequences on agriculture, infrastructure, public health provision, and social order+ These indirect consequences are often overlooked and underappreci- ated+ They also affect women—arguably more so than men+ This article provides the first rigorous analysis of the impact of armed conflict on female life expectancy rel- ative to male+ We find that over the entire conflict period, interstate and civil wars on average affect women more adversely than men+ In peacetime, women typically live longer than men+ Hence, armed conflict tends to decrease the gap between female and male life expectancy+ For civil wars, we also find that ethnic wars and wars in failed states are much more damaging to women than other civil wars+ Our find- ings challenge policymakers as well as international and humanitarian organizations to develop policies that tackle the large indirect and long-term negative health impacts of armed conflicts+
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